Children’s Developmental Center receives grant from Thunderbirds Charities to help families better access disabilities services

The Children’s Developmental Center at Southwest Human Development recently received a $50,000 grant from Thunderbirds Charities, the charitable giving arm of the Thunderbirds – hosts of the Waste Management Phoenix Open. This award will support intake coordination services that help families avoid visits to multiple specialists and assists them in navigating an often fragmented and significantly under-resourced service delivery system.

“So often, we hear families telling us about the difficulties they’ve experienced trying to gain access to the services they need to support their young children with disabilities,” said Torie Hackett, program manager of the Children’s Developmental Center at Southwest Human Development. “Families find themselves going from specialist to specialist in search of answers to questions they have about the issues their children are going through. Our Children’s Developmental Center helps to alleviate that by providing a comprehensive support team all in one place—ranging from physical, speech and occupational therapists to feeding specialists and even behavioral health experts.”

The Children’s Developmental Center provides a wide range of disabilities programs and services including assistive technology at its ADAPT Shop, autism services using the DIRFloortime® model, team developmental assessments, feeding services, psychology and counseling, therapy services and more.

“We are so grateful for our relationship with Thunderbirds Charities and are grateful to have a partner in supporting Arizona’s youngest children and their families,” says Jake Adams, chief development officer of Southwest Human Development. “The Children’s Developmental Center is one of the only places where low-and-middle-income families can get comprehensive developmental evaluations. Our community has struggled to maintain these services due to low insurance reimbursement rates and philanthropy like that of Thunderbirds Charities is the only way it is possible.”

For more information about the Children’s Developmental Center at Southwest Human Development, call (602) 468-3430 or visit www.swhd.org/cdcenter.